Diet

 Sea Vegetables 

Kelp

Dr. Elson Haas says:
'Kelp seaweed is a common health food supplement. It is taken primarily
for its iodine conent by people who want to improve thyroid function,
though there is no proof that kelp changes this function. They thyroid
gland must, however, have suffiecient iodine, and if we do not use
iodized salt or eat a lot of fish and seaweed, kelp may be a helpful
adjunct. It is also high i other vitamins and minerals such as calcium,
magnesium, potaassium, niacin, riboflain, and choline. Algin, which is
helpful at pulling out intestinal toxins and heaavy meatls, is also
fiund in kelp. Kelp powder used on food is a good salt substitute but
should not be overused.

From a quote by Lillian R. Carquee in Juliette de Barclai Levy's book:
Seaweed is without equal as a source of natural iodine. Organic iodine,
the only kind the thyroid gland can appropriate, causes better retention
and utilization of calcium and phosphorus; lesser degrees of thyroid
deficiency produce bone changes analogous to that of rickets weakness.
It is of far greater value in mineral and vitamin content than is much
earth-grown produce raised on impoverished soil."

Juliette says:
It is a glandular tonic, stimulates stalwart body development, and
promotes strong bones. It is useful for producing strong shelled eggs in
chickens.

Balch and Balch say:
Kelp is a rich source of vitamins, especially the B vitamins as well of
many valuable minerals and trace elements. It is reported to be very
valuable to brain tissue, the membranes surrounding the brain, the
sensory nervs, and the spinal cord, as well as the nails and blood
vessels. It has been used in the treatment of thyroid problems and is
useful for other conditions as varied as hair loss, obestiy, and ulcers.
It protects against the effects of radiation and softens stools.

Wulf-Tilford and Tilford say:
Cautions:
Prolonged ingestion may reduce gastrointestinal iron absorption,
resulting in a slow reduction in hemoglobin, packed cell volume and
serum iron concentrations. Prolonged ingestion may also affect
absorption of sodium and potassium ions and cause diarrhea.
gloria

My local vet is telling his clients to avoid kelp as it causes immune system
suppression. He didn't provide evidence of this other than to say they were
told this at a vet conference recently. The implication apparently was that
kelp contains dangerously high levels of iodine and is therefore unsafe to
give in ANY dose.

I've fed kelp to ALL my animals for the past 20 years (sometimes high doses)
with absolutely no ill effects. As a naturopath I haven't seen any
literature about this in respect to humans either. Has anyone else heard of
this detrimental effect of kelp? If so, can you direct me to the
appropriate literature?

At this stage I suspect it may be just a bit of "alternate therapy bashing"
(which happens regularly with the medical and veterinary professions when
they feel threatened!) but if there is some actual valid evidence of the
immune suppressing action of kelp I would like to know about it.
Carole Bryant

I use feed from a certified organic feed source and they add kelp to
their feeds. Before there was an organic feed mill in New England, I
followed Juliette's recommendations of approx a pinch per bird. I kind of
estimated and just added what I thought was a pinch x the number of birds x
the number of days worth of feed to which I was adding it. I hope that
makes sense. I also seem to recall that she said to begin feeding it (I
think to chicken chicks) after they were 10 days old. I noticed that the
turkey starter I bought this spring contained kelp and it was fed from day
one to my guinea keets. They're only 3 months old and thriving so far but
obviously I don't if there will be any ill effects over the long run.

FWIW, the kelp I use for livestock is from Nutritional Research in Indiana.
Every time I order, I ask the source and each time they tell me it's from
Norway, way up north in the fjords. I figure that's probably fairly safe as
things go these days. The kind I used to get from the health food store was
very powdery and didn't seem to be as palatable as the kind I use now which
is grainier.
Nancy